The big match

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Newport’s opponents were FC Carl Zeiss Jena. They were formed in May 1903 by workers at the Carl Zeiss optical factory and, sponsored by the company, originally went by the name of Fussball-Club der Firma Carl Zeiss, although the club’s name was to undergo several changes down the years. With the growth of football as a popular pastime in the late 19th century it became common for employees of large manufacturers to run sports teams. A team formed by workers in the Carriage and Wagon department of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway became Newton Heath LYR FC, which later underwent another name change to Manchester United. In the Netherlands, Philips actually formed a club for the benefit of its employees, Philips Sport Vereniging, better known as PSV Eindhoven.